


Begin Again

by Zkdlin_oh



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Adoption, Barista Park Chanyeol, Exes to Lovers, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mpreg, Single Parent Byun Baekhyun, Slice of Life
Language: Filipino
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:01:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29912493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zkdlin_oh/pseuds/Zkdlin_oh
Summary: "On a Wednesday in a cafe, I watched It  Begin Again"Ex-boyfriend's Chanyeol and Baekhyun accidentally meets for the first time in 6 years after their break up at a cafe that Chanyeol owns.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Oh Sehun
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

Bαekhyun smiles as he spots his pregnant friend sitting outside of the restaurant. He didn’t waste anymore time and skipped his way through the mall and approached his friend who’s stuffing his face with pancakes.

“How are you on diet but these are all carbs.” He pointed at Kyungsσσ’s orders. Sausage and pancake, ricotta pancakes… looks like Kyungsσσ ordered every kind of pancake that Sunnies Café has to offer.

Kyungsσσ puts down his cutleries with a loud clunk and glares at his best friend “What do you want me to do? This little bean wants to eat everything.” He says and rubs his belly. He’s three months pregnant already. They thought he would be the last one to get pregnant but obviously they were wrong. Not when his husband, Jσngin, was adamant on having a child already.

“You should slow it down. You might have a hard time giving birth if you gain more work.” Bαekhyun says, eyeing him. His OB already said that he should slow down on the eating because it might be hard for him to give birth.

“Are you saying that I’m fat?” He gasped dramatically.

“No. Just ten pounds overweight.” Bαekhyun goes back to scanning the menu.

Kyungsσσ sighed and looked down at his belly and rubbed it soothingly “Little bean, looks like we have to stop eating. Uncle Baek thinks I’m fat.”

“It was a joke.” He commented and waved his hand to the waiter who scurried to their table to get their order. Bαekhyun says his & Jυnmyeσn order — who's twenty minutes late already— before looking at Kyungsσσ who’s looking at him with his wide doe eyes.

“Is it hard? Raising a child?” 

“Not really. I enjoyed it. I think it would be a little easy for you since you have Jσngin with you. But you guys made it easier too though. You helped me raise Scottie.”

“I feel like I’m still not ready.” Kyungsσσ says, lips starting to tremble. Normally, his best friend is not an emotional person. He’s mostly stoic and barely gives reaction or show emotion but ever since he got pregnant he started to be sensitive, especially when he was in his first trimester. Everyone was walking on eggshells around him because he would get angry or sad over little things.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Said a panting Jυnmyeσn. “You know how Makati traffic can be.”

“You’re always late.” Both Kyungsσσ and Bαekhyun spoke in unison. 

“Anyway, you can’t be fully prepared to be a parent. Because you won’t really know what to do unless the baby is there.” Bαekhyun explains to his friend for the nth time already. “Like me for example, I’ve always wanted to have a child ever since I knew that I was a carrier, I would always research about babies' needs and stuff like that but when it all happened, when Scottie was there, I was dumbfounded, and you guys saw how much I struggled.”

“You shouldn’t think about it that much Soo.” Jυnmyeσn adds in “Just enjoy your pregnancy. Also, we’re here to help just like what we did with Bαekhyun .” The three started to eat their brunch while talking about the most random things. 

“By the way? When’s the gender reveal?” Jυnmyeσn asks while munching on his food. “Are you gonna do it at home?”

“On my fifth month or sixth. Jσngin has been very busy, that’s why we don’t have time to plan it yet.” He drinks from his glass. “He’s gonna take a break from work when I reach my seventh month.” Jσngin works for his father’s company. Although he can take off from work and leave his remaining deadlines to the employees under him, he’s not fond of doing that. He wants everything settled once he leaves for a short while to tend to his husband and their baby.

“Well, we’re here to help. I can help you with the place.”

“Same. I think I can pull out a few stuff from Privé for the giveaways.” Bαekhyun suggested to his friend. 

“I just don’t want a super grand gender reveal you know. But my in-laws are probably expecting some fireworks and champagne and all that stuff.” He grumbles, making both of his friends laugh.

“You should talk to Jσngin so he could talk to his parents.”

“I wish I could do that. But Jongin is scared of his parents.They babied him too much.” The three laughed. Both Bαekhyun and Jυnmyeσn are still surprised how Jσngin and Kyungsσσ ended up getting married.

Jσngin is sheltered, spoiled, and overly emotional. Meanwhile, Kyungsσσ was very independent and had a strong character.

_“I don’t really Jσngin. He’s so old but he still needs to have his mom’s opinion on what he has to do.”_

_“Why do people think he's handsome? I really don’t get it.”_

_“What a cry baby.”_

Those were some of the things that Kyungsσσ would always grumble about when he first met Jσngin. 

But lo and behold after working in the same company for months, despite Kyungsσσ being in denial about his feelings, both of them surprised their friends when they saw them together, walking hand in hand in one of the malls in Makati.

“But you love him.” Jυnmyeσn teased, making Kyungsσσ blush. 

“I do. Very much. Hayyy I sound like a highschooler.” He whines. 

“Alright, we know.” Bαekhyun gathers his things. “I need to go. I have a meeting in a few minutes.”

“Sehυn said we’ll fetch Scottie later he misses his godson.” 

“Okay. But _please_ don’t buy him toys. Please tell Sehυn. The last time they hung out, Sehυn bought him ten thousand pesos worth of toy trains.”

“Okay okay. I’ll try to hold him off. But you know how Sehun is with Scottie..” 

“You know what? I think you should have a baby already so you have your own baby to spoil.” Kyungsσσ says.

“We’re still not ready. Having a kid is a big responsibility. We’re just twenty-seven. We still want to do a lot of things that need our full time and attention.” Jυnmyeσn reasoned out.

“So my son is just like your practice round?” Bαekhyun jokes, rolling his eyes.

“Shhh. Just be thankful you have us when you need someone to take care of Scottie when you go on your business trips”

“I know. Thank you. I gotta go now. Let’s meet later. Love you both” Baekhyun waves at his friends before turning around to go to his office.

—

Chαnyeol goes around his café to check his customer’s. He just opened his café’s third branch in Makati. A location he never ever thought he’d built a branch in considering how high the rent is. But after a lot of thought, whines from his business partner Jongdae, and _money_ of course, he gave in. 

“Do you like the cheesecake?” He asks wide toothy green “that’s Jongdae’s recipe, my business partner.” He points at Jongdae who is busy observing the employees on the counter. 

“Yes. It’s actually really good.” One of the students in the table gives her approval. Chαnyeol thanks them before going to his office in the back of the kitchen to rest. He has been restless for the past few weeks prior to the opening of the new branch. 

Chαnyeol rested his head down on his arms, closing his eyes to relax himself for a little bit and let sleep take him away.

—

“Grande Iced Mocha for Bαekhyun .” One of the waiters yelled at the counter. Bαekhyun looks up from his journal and stands up from his seat to get his drink. He’s currently at this newly opened café near where they ate earlier.

He got back to his seat and busied himself on jotting down his schedule for the month. 

_New York_ for two weeks. He sighed and rubbed his temple. Not really a fan of travelling especially when he thinks about leaving his son. 

He sighed and continued to scan his journal to review his schedule, making sure he doesn’t miss anything. 

“Hi Sir.” A waiter stopped by his table and placed a slice of chocolate cake on the table. 

“Hello. I don’t remember ordering a cake.” 

“It’s on the house sir. The owner said you liked chocolate cake and told me to give this to you.” Bαekhyun looks at the counter to catch a glimpse of this mysterious owner since if he knows he likes chocolate cakes he must’ve known Bαekhyun . 

Bαekhyun did not see anyone familiar at the counter. He shrugged and smiled at the waiter “Tell your boss I said thank you.” He watched the waiter scurried away before taking a bit on the chocolate cake. A little too sweet for his liking but it wasn’t overly sweet that he cannot bear to eat it. 

“How’d you like our chocolate cake sir?” He heard a voice which stopped him in eating the last bite of the cake. He looks up to a familiar man looking down at him with a wide toothy grin on his face. “Long time no see.”

“Chαnyeol?” He almost choked to his own spit “Oh my gosh! I haven’t seen in years!” He exclaimed, eyes wide. 

“How long has it been? Five? Six years?” Chαnyeol asks, sitting down on the chair in front of Bαekhyun .

“Well, I’ve been really busy with work.” He says fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “How are you?” 

“Great. I’ve been great. Just opened a new branch of my cafe.” Chαnyeol proudly stated.

“Wow!” Baekhyun exclaimed, feeling extremely proud of his childhood friend. He watched as Chanyeol took his fork and grabbed the last bite of cake. He smiled and rolled his eyes. 

“How was the cake?” 

“Good. A little too sweet for me.” Chαnyeol grins at Bαekhyun ’s honesty. “But it’s okay overall.”

“ _Julie’s Bakeshop’s_ chocolate cake is still your number one?” Chαnyeol grins wide. Bαekhyun _loves_ their chocolate cake. He grew up eating that cake since his family never really had money to buy from Red Ribbon or Goldilocks. He only gets to eat other brands of cake when he attends his friend’s birthday.

“Yes.” 

“I guess I need to tell my partner to cut down the sugar on the cake since the chocolate cake connoisseur had something to say, eh?” 

He was about to say something but Bαekhyun ’s phone rang, cutting them off. 

“Hello?” Bαekhyun smiles at the little voice. Chαnyeol waves and points at the counter.

“I have to go back.” Chαnyeol stands up after Bαekhyun nods at him.

“Dada!” The child squeals on the phone. “We’w going two you! Me and Daddy SeSe!”

“Baby what did I say? Don’t call uncle SeSe daddy.”

“But Daddy SeSe says it's okay.” The child whined “Also Daddy Juju.” Bαekhyun rolls his eyes.

“Okay okay.I’m in a café. Do you want anything, baby?.” 

“Cookied dada pwease.”

“Okay. See you later, my love!” Bαekhyun drops the call. He stands up to gather his things and goes to the counter where Chαnyeol is. 

“How may I help you sir?” Chαnyeol wiggles his eyebrows.

“Five choco chip cookies please.” He orders for his son. Bαekhyun hands his card to Chαnyeol.

“No need Baek, it’s on me.”

“Yeollie!” Bαekhyun grumbles “I’ll pay.” He said, pushing his credit card to Chαnyeol’s chest. When he did not take he turned to the other cashier and handed his card “Please swipe it. Your boss doesn’t want to accept my payment.”

“Hey Mark don’t accept it.” He turns to face Mark who looks confused on their exchange of banter. “And you,” He points jokingly at Baekhyun “Just think of it as a ‘long time no see’ gift.”

  
  
  


“Chαnyeol.” Bαekhyun says, a little hard this time. Chαnyeol sighs and takes the card from Bαekhyun who grins at him. He will never win over Baekhyun over these kinds of things . “See. It wasn’t that hard eh?” 

“Yeah yeah. Next time it’s on the house.” 

“Thanks Yeollie.” He waves and goes out of the café. He spots Sehυn’s car waiting for him on the sidewalk. 

“Hello my love” Bαekhyun cooed at his three year old son who’s sitting on the car seat — _that’s been installed by Sehυn and Jυnmyeσn just for Scottie_. “Did you enjoy hanging out with you ninong SeSe?” He said, scratching Scottie’s chin, making the boy giggle.

“Uwncle SeSe is nice!!!” He squealed “ _bwought me shoes!”_

“Baby that was our secwet!” Sehυn baby talked while looking at him through the rear view mirror.

“Se…” Bαekhyun narrowed his eyes “What shoes?”

“A Dior one.” Jυnmyeσn talked for the first time. He heard Sehυn whined at his husband.

“What? Se, I told you not to buy him expensive stuff.”

“The shoes were so cute!How can I resist when it looks good on him? Just think of it as a advanced birthday gift”

“His birthday is in February… We aren’t even half way through June yet.”

“Super advanced birthday gift?” He grins, eyes still on the road. Bαekhyun could only sigh. He knows he can’t stop Sehυn from spending his money on Scottie. Both of them adore him. They were so supportive when he had Scottie. They bought everything that his son needed even though Bαekhyun was more than capable of doing it for his own son.

He’s thankful for the both of them because they treat Scottie like their own. Takes care of Scottie when Bαekhyun needs to go to NewYork for business meetings. 

“Hey. I’m going to NewYork this coming week.” 

“Yeah?” Sehυn's smile is wide. “Does it mean I’m gonna have more time to play with the baby?”

“Pway twime Daddy SeSe!!” Scottie squealed, arms stretched out to his _Daddy SeSe,_ hands are open and closing

“I’ll be there for two weeks. So please Sehυn… No more buying overly expensive stuff. Especially clothes.” Bαekhyun turns to his son and pinches his cheek “What will you say if Tito SeSe wants to buy you gifts? Say _‘No need Tito SeSe’”_

“But I like Diwor and Gushi Dada!” He says clapping his hands.

“Good job Baby!” Sehυn beamed “Let’s go shopping shopping when Dada leaves, Okay?”

“Owtay Daddy SeSe!!!” Bαekhyun groans and starts to consider leaving his son to Kyungsσσ. He just hopes that his son won’t be accustomed to shopping for those luxury brands that Sehυn buys him. 

“Don’t you think it’s time for you to get him a nanny?” Jυnmyeσn asks Bαekhyun who’s busy kissing his son’s cheek. “I mean you said before you wanted to be hands on until he can walk. Don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out with Scottie but what if you have somewhere to go and we’re also busy?”

“I think it’s better if he just finds a house husband.” Sehυn quipped.

“Eh? I’m still okay. I don’t think I need a nanny anytime soon. When school is done I can bring him with me already for my business trips.” He sighed “And for Sehun’s suggestion, Maybe I can find one if he’s a bit bigger.”

“Why? I think it’ll be easier for him to adjust if you have a husband now.” Sehun says and Junmyeon agrees.

“Well, it’s not that easy to find a boyfriend if you have a child, let alone a husband.” He looks at his son who’s already dozing off “Anyway, it’s not on my agenda right now. I just want to watch Scottie grow because it’s all happening too fast. One day when i wake up he might be too independent and won’t want to spend his time with me”

  
  


“That would never happen, B. He adores you… even if he’s thirty plus… he will still want you to be by his side.”

“My gosh. I hope so. I don’t know what I’ll do if he decides to get married already.”

“Hey. Three palang yang anak mo kasal na agad iniisip mo.” 

“I guess ganun talaga pag parent ka na.” He strokes his son’s cheek, smiling fondly. He just wishes Scottie won’t grow up so fast… 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little glipse of the past and how Chanyeol and Baekhyun's love fell blossomed and fell apart.

Moving from one place to another is such a big change for a child especially when you’re already learning to connect to people after years of being shy. But the Byun family has no choice but to move to the city  _ for better opportunities  _ as his father has put it. 

So here he is, bags in hand, in the middle of Litex Market, waiting for their jeepney ride to their new  _ home.  _

**

_ “Oy si Kris taya!”  _ A chubby kid with glasses shouts at his friends, trying not to laugh in the process.

“ _ Ako na naman!”  _ The kid who’s too tall for his age whined.  _ “Lagi nalang ako ang taya.” _

_ “Galingan mo kasi mag tago! Puro kasi sa may likod ng drum eh.” _

Bαekhyun watched the kids banter on the front door of their house. It’s his first time to go out this far since he didn’t like the smell of the new place where their house is. 

Unlike in Bicol, where the air smells clean and freshly cut grass, the air was thick and pungent. There is a lot of trash that's been thrown around the street where the kids play. He scrunched his nose as air passed through him.

He misses the smell of grass in Bicol.

“ _ Gusto mo sumali samin?” _ He wasn’t aware that he was staring at the kids for a long time.  _ “Bago ka dito?”  _ The chubby kid with glasses pressed.

Bαekhyun just stared at the kids who’s waiting for his answer. He opened his mouth but it was closed immediately.

_ “Damn it Bαekhyun , why do I have to be shy now? _ ” He asks himself, still staring at the kids. The tall guys nudges the chubby kid.

“ _ Ayaw yata. Tara na. Tayo na lang.”  _ The tall kid said before running away with the other kids leaving the chubby kid with glasses looking up at him with a small smile on his face.

  
  


_ “Chαnyeol halika na dito bata ka! Kanina ka pa dyan sa labas! Pawis na pawis ka na!”  _ A woman shouted, making the kid come up with a cheeky smile.  _ “Pumasok ka na dadating na ang papa mo!” _ The woman urges. The kid looked back at Bαekhyun and waved his hand before turning around and running to the woman who’s calling him.

** 

_ “Pipe ka?” _ The chubby kid with glasses, who’s name is Chαnyeol, wonders innocently. 

Chαnyeol was so curious about it because he never heard the kid talk even when he spotted his mother talking to him. 

_ “Hindi.” _ Bαekhyun said in a small voice and continued playing with the rocks on his hand. After a week and a lot of nagging from his mom, Bαekhyun finally went out of their house. 

_ “Ah akala ko pipe ka eh.” _ Chαnyeol said and sat in front of Bαekhyun , settling the cat on the floor that he has been carrying around all day.  _ “Di ka kasi nag sasalita noong una eh”  _ To be honest, Bαekhyun is just really shy and doesn’t socialize really because he was an only child and he didn’t have any friends in Bicol. 

_ “Chαnyeol”  _ The chubby kid with glasses offered his hand. 

_ “I know. You mom yells your name everyday because you forget to go home on time because you play too much.” _ Bαekhyun wanted to say but he kept it to himself. 

_ “Bαekhyun .”  _ He wanted to offer his hand as well but it was covered in dust. Chαnyeol saw it but still took Bαekhyun ’s hand and shook it. 

_ “Bagong lipat lang kayo dito, diba?” _ He asks Bαekhyun who only nods at him.  _ “San ka galing? Taga manila ka din ba?” _

Bαekhyun shakes his head  _ “Bicol.” _

_ “San yun?”  _ Chαnyeol wonders. Bαekhyun was about to answer but Chαnyeol cut him off  _ “Sama ka sami lagi mag laro. Kami nila Kris tiyaka Luhan… mabait yun.” _

Bαekhyun and Chαnyeol have been inseparable since then. 

  
  


**

_ “Matamis, maanghang, O suka?”  _ Chαnyeol asks himself, eyebrows furrowed, with a little pout forming on his lips. He has been staring at the variety of sauces in  _ Kuya Idol’s — as the students would call him —  _ fishball and kwek-kwek cart. Chαnyeol hissed before pressing his lips into a thin line, thinking really hard like he’s choosing something over a matter of life and death.

“ _ Yeol bilisan mo na. Malapit na si tatay!” _ Bαekhyun almost shouts with a mouth full of kikiam that he has been munching on for the last 5 minutes. 

_ “Eto na, eto na!”  _ He whines and dunked the kwek-kwek on the sweet sauce. He grinned while looking at the food before popping a piece in his mouth. He hummed, nodding his head while savoring the kwek-kwek. 

Bαekhyun rolled his eyes and walked in front of him, seeing a streak of sauce was on the corner of his mouth upto cheek. “ _ Ano ba yan ang kalat mo kumain!” _ He laughed and wiped Chαnyeol’s now sculpted cheek. All his baby fats were gone now and he became this tall lanky guy. 

Chαnyeol was frozen in his spot as Bαekhyun wipes the remaining sauce on his cheeks. 

Chαnyeol doesn’t know why, but everytime Bαekhyun does something kinda intimate his heart just starts pounding in his chest and feels like it’s going to burst.

It started three weeks ago. Chαnyeol was waiting for Bαekhyun outside of their classroom because apparently it the day that he’s gonna see the result of his trigonometry exam that Bαekhyun has been dreading for the past week since he is having a hard time answering some of the problems in their summative tests. Bαekhyun asked Chαnyeol to wait for him for moral support in case Bαekhyun fails the exam — not that Bαekhyun needs to ask his best friend to wait for him because Chαnyeol always does wait for him.

_ “Chαnyeol!!!”  _ Bαekhyun beamed and ran up to Chαnyeol and hugged him. Bαekhyun squealed before squeezing his friend tight.  _ “Perfect ko yung exam!”  _ Chαnyeol felt his best friend's breath on his ears causing a tingling sensation on his neck down to his spine, and suddenly his heart started to pick up its pace. 

“A… ano… congrats.” He said breathlessly before wrapping an arm around Bαekhyun ’s waist. 

__

—

_ “Chαnyeol! Tara na kasi wala ko kasama sa bahay nasa palengke pa sina mama! Madami pa daw siya benta”  _ Bαekhyun whines tugging at his best friend but the taller one doesn’t even budge. 

Chαnyeol has been ignoring him for the past three days. Every damn time that Bαekhyun does something Chαnyeol’s heart just beats faster and it doesn’t help that Bαekhyun ’s classmate, Aldrin, keeps on latching on Bαekhyun like a freaking leech and it makes him feel mad for some reason. 

_ “May gagawin nga ko ang kulit naman!”  _ Chαnyeol snapped, shaking Bαekhyun ’s hand off his arms. 

_ “Bat ka nagagalit? Problema neto.” _

_ “Eh ang kulit mo eh. Bahala ka nga diyan.” _ Chαnyeol turns around and goes to the direction where their house is and never looks back at a mad and fuming Bαekhyun .

Bαekhyun doesn’t understand why Chαnyeol is acting like this so he just shrugged it off.

On the same night, Chαnyeol saw Bαekhyun and Aldrin eating together in Manang Joy’s carinderia.

_ “Ba’t andito yan. Taga Holy Spirit yan diba?” _ Chαnyeol grumbled under his breath, while shooting daggers on the boy’s back. 

He watched as Aldrin whispers something making Bαekhyun laugh so loud to the point where the other people eating are looking at them. 

He was about to invite Bαekhyun over for dinner in their house since he felt guilty over snapping at his best friend earlier for nothing.

Annoyed and jealous (?), Chαnyeol turns around and goes back to their house.

_ “Baek ah. Thank you!”  _ Aldrin smiled at Bαekhyun . 

_ “Ano ka ba ako dapat mag thank you. Ikaw na nga nang libre ng pagkain ko eh.”  _ They are now in front of Bαekhyun ’s house. Aldrin insisted on accompanying Bαekhyun back home even if the carinderia is just three houses away from Bαekhyun 's house.

_ “Tange hindi dun.”  _ Aldrin laughs feeling a little shy  _ “Yung kay Eya kasi. Lakad mo ko ah!”  _

Aldrin is completely smitten with Eya. Since Bαekhyun and Eya are close friends, Aldrin asked for help because he has been wanting to court the girl ever since they were first year in highschool. A year later, Second year in Highschool, Aldrin still can't bring himself to court the girl. 

_ “Ah wala yun. Kausapin mo din kasi minsan. Two years na tayo mag kakalase eh.” _

_ “Syempre nahihiya ako. Gago kasi nakita mo ba? Sobrang ganda tiyaka hinhin niya, matalino pa.”  _ Aldrin looks like he’s gonna melt into a puddle just thinking about the girl.

_ “Oo na. Sige na!”  _ He pushes Aldrin.  _ “Umuwi ka na at gabi na.”  _ Aldrin pat’s Bαekhyun ’s head before saying goodbye.

Bαekhyun pressed his back on the door after closing it. 

_ “Ano kaya feeling ng may nagkakagusto or may nanliligaw sayo?” _ He thought to himself, feeling a little giddy just thinking about it. Bαekhyun thought that it must feel nice to be kilig over someone confessing their feelings for you or if someone courts you. 

Getting your hands held while having a cute date in the school canteen, someone waiting for you after class so they can bring you home.

Someone to share your first kiss…… Bαekhyun blushed and covered his face before squealing. He shook his head to get rid of the thought.

_ “Huy second year highschool ka palang!” _ He slapped himself and went to his room to finish his homeworks so he can help his mother in the market tomorrow.

He pushed aside the thought of relationship and courting. He needs to graduate first with a good grade because he needs the scholarship so he can continue to college since his parents can’t afford to send him to the university that Bαekhyun wants to go to.

**

Chαnyeol is mad. The last time that Bαekhyun saw him this mad was a long time ago. A kid stole his  _ pogs _ and claimed that it was his and that his mother bought it in Aling Nena’s sari-sari store. 

Chαnyeol clenched and unclenched his fist, staring directly at Bαekhyun ’s, tears were threatening to fall from his big almond eyes. 

Bαekhyun was reading his notes peacefully, sitting on their tattered sofa when Chαnyeol suddenly bursted inside their house. 

_ “Hoy okay ka lang ba? Ano nangyari sayo diyan?” _ Bαekhyun finally put down his notes and stood up from the sofa after a lot of minutes that Chαnyeol was just standing there staring at him.  _ “Problema neto.”  _ He rolled his eyes when he didn’t get an answer from the taller man.

_ “Nililigawan ka daw ni Aldrin?” _ He whispered just loud enough for Bαekhyun to hear. 

Chαnyeol saw them in the school canteen during lunch time. Aldrin was sitting beside Bαekhyun , whispering something to his best friend, lips were grazing on Bαekhyun ’s ear.

And in that moment Chαnyeol has finally realized that he was jealous not just as a friend but something more. He was just a little oblivious and in denial of his feelings. Because  _ “You aren’t supposed to fall for your best friend”  _ His friend, James, said to him.  _ “Oo kasi masisira friendship niyo pag nag break kayo.” _ His other friend, Bryan, added.

But when Kris said that he heard from one of his friends from section 1 — _ where Bαekhyun and Aldrin’s class is —  _ that he overheard Aldrin talking about  _ making ligaw _ to Bαekhyun or something like that, Chαnyeol’s heart dropped. He ran so fast to Bαekhyun ’s house, not looking back at Kris who was shouting his name.

_ “Pinagsasasabi mo diyan?”  _ He scowled at Chαnyeol who was still on his spot. 

_ “Nililigawan ka daw ni Aldrin.”  _ He repeated.  _ “Sasagutin mo ba siya?” _ Chαnyeol's voice cracks, and his tears that he has been holding fall from his eyes. 

_ “Anong nililigawan?— hoy okay ka lang?”  _ Bαekhyun scurried towards his friend who’s already sobbing.  _ “Sandali nga!” _ He groans and gets a tissue before whipping his friend’s tears and snot.  _ “Ano bang iniiyak mo diyan.”  _ He said getting annoyed at Chαnyeol.

_ “Tina… tinatanong k-ko kung nililigawan ka niya.” _

_ “Hindi niya ko nililigawan. Ba’t niya ko liligawan?” _ Bαekhyun crossed his arms and watched Chαnyeol wipe his own tears with the sleeves of his school uniform. Chαnyeol mumbles something before turning around getting ready to go out of Bαekhyun ’s house. 

_ “Hoy… hoy. Tara nga muna dito sandali.”  _ he tugged Chαnyeol’s uniform.  _ “Iiyak iyak ka dito tapos aalis ka agad. Ano ba problema mo.” _

Chαnyeol turns around to face Bαekhyun . He groans and bites his lips before cupping Bαekhyun ’s cheeks with both of his hands, a determined look falls into his face as he stares at Bαekhyun ’s eyes. 

_ “Teka… teka..”  _ Bαekhyun tried to get out of his grip but Chαnyeol tightened it, squeezing his cheeks until Bαekhyun ’s lips were pouting. Chαnyeol’s gaze flickered back and forth from Bαekhyun ’s eyes to his lips.

With a deep breath Chαnyeol closes his eyes and dives in to kiss Bαekhyun on the lips, leaving Bαekhyun stunned and frozen, eyes wide open. 

Here it goes again. Chαnyeol's heart starts to pound just like everytime Bαekhyun does something to him, but this time the pounding was much harder that he feels like his heart is really gonna explode. 

After a moment Chαnyeol was about to pull out but Bαekhyun grabbed his collar so that Chαnyeol’s lips just stayed where they were. 

Chαnyeol wanted to move his lips like what he sees in the noon time drama that his mother watches but he was a bit scared because it’s their first kiss and he doesn’t know how to.

_ “Baek…”  _ he mumbles against Chαnyeol’s lips. Bαekhyun ’s eyes that were closed snapped open. He gasped and pushed Chαnyeol lightly. 

_ “Sorry…”  _ Bαekhyun ’s face flushed out of embarrassment. He didn’t know why he did that.  _ “It’s because you like it.” _ It was like a little angel  _ or devil _ whispered in his ears.

_ “Ba’t ka nag so-sorry? I like it.”  _ Chαnyeol shyly replies, rubbing the back of his neck.  _ “Mag boyfriend na ba tayo?” _ He looks at Bαekhyun whose hands are covering his face now.  _ “Baek..” _ He moves Bαekhyun ’s hand out of his face.  _ “Baek.. boyfriend na kita ha.”  _ Chαnyeol intertwined their hands, making Bαekhyun blush even more.

Bαekhyun wanted to say yes because friends don’t kiss. But he still doesn’t know why Chαnyeol was suddenly acting like that. He wanted Chαnyeol to explain first.

_ “Anong boyfriend. Ligawan mo muna ko no. Tyaka mag-explain ka muna!”  _

_ “Ba’t pa ko mang-liligaw eh gusto mo din naman yung kiss ko.”  _ Chαnyeol teases. Bαekhyun scowled at him and retracted his hand but Chαnyeol was quick to pull him into a hug.  _ “Oo na. Liligawan na kita. _ ” He kissed Bαekhyun ’s forehead before pulling away.  _ “Sunduin kita bukas. Sabay tayo pasok.”  _ Chαnyeol waves at him before going out of their house. 

True to Chαnyeol’s words, he did fetch Bαekhyun so they can go to school together, he even brought pandesal that his mom bought at the local bakery. 

Chαnyeol has been fetching Bαekhyun for the past three weeks. Sometimes he brings something, sometimes he doesn’t because it’s either his mom forgot to buy something or his fifty peso baon is just enough for the jeepney fare and for his lunch. 

_ “Bαekhyun may problema ba?”  _ Chαnyeol closed the door of his room. Bαekhyun has been acting weird ever since he fetched him this morning. He was silent on their way to the school, when they were eating their lunch, and when they were going to Chαnyeol’s house.

_ “Uy Bαekhyun ….”  _ Chαnyeol pokes his bestfriend’s cheeks.

_ “Tayo na.”  _ Bαekhyun said. 

_ “Jowa na kita?”  _ He asks, feeling giddy. Bαekhyun nods his head with a shy smile on his face.  _ “Three weeks lang pala nagpaligaw ka pa. Crush mo din ako eh.”  _

_ “Chαnyeol!!!” _

_ “Joke lang. So boyfriend na kita?”  _ Bαekhyun only nodded, looking at his lap. 

—

A lot of people thought that it was just puppy love. That Bαekhyun and Chαnyeol would break up a couple of months after they made it official. They were still in their second year of highschool back then. They were so young, barely fifteen year old teenagers.

But both of them defied what other people thought. Now two years into their relationship, both of them are in college already. They have been each other’s strength and anchor.

Just like right now, where Chαnyeol is crying because he cannot take it anymore. He is barely passing one of his subjects. So he traveled from España all the way to katipunan just to cry on his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

_ “Baby…”  _ Bαekhyun hugs him tightly, rubbing circles on his back.  _ “May finals pa. Kayang kaya mo bawiin.” _

_ “Pero love… ayoko na. Hindi talaga para sakin eh.” _ Chαnyeol says in between sobs. _ “Hirap na hirap nako love. Tang ina feeling ko sobrang bobo ko di ako maka catch up. Kailangan ko pa mag paturo ng ilang ulit bago ko makuha yung simpleng problem.”  _ Chαnyeol doesn’t really want to take up engineering. He wanted to take up tourism —  _ just like his older sister, Yoora —  _ or HRM, but his dad has insisted that he wanted Chαnyeol to be an engineer since it was his father’s dream ever since he was a child but he cannot fulfill it because his parents couldn’t afford to send him to college —  _ not that Chαnyeol’s parents are paying for his tuition fee because it was really Yoora who is paying for it since she is now working as a flight attendant in Philippine Airlines _ . — so he is letting his son fulfill his dreams for him.

_ “Ganito na lang.”  _ He held Chαnyeol’s face in his hands, wiping the tears with his thumbs.  _ “Kausapin mo papa mo. Sabihin mo na nahihirapan ka and kung ano talaga gusto mo.” _

_ “Sasamahan mo ko?”  _

_ “Palagi.”  _ He wipes Chαnyeol’s tear stained cheeks again  _ “I love you.”  _ He said before giving his boyfriend a kiss on the lips. Chαnyeol immediately relaxed, finally stopped crying. 

_ “I love you too. Thank you, mahal.”  _

—

Now four years into their relationship, everything still feels the same. It feels like they are still the same second year highschool lovers, just a little mature in terms of physical and emotional aspects. 

They thought they know each other so well considering they were friends for so long— 7 years to be exact— before they became boyfriends, but it turns out that they still have a lot to learn.

  
  


Chαnyeol finally had the chance to see his boyfriend who has been very busy in his acads and work as a student assistant. The last time he saw Bαekhyun was two weeks ago because he was so busy juggling acads, org life, and his work.

Chαnyeol patiently waits for Bαekhyun outside of his building where one of his classes is being held, a bouquet of flowers is in his hands. 

It’s their fourth year anniversary and it’s a friday and it’s also Bαekhyun ’s last day of Midterm exam so it’s a perfect day for them to have a date.

He saw Bαekhyun with his two friends, Jυnmyeσn and Kyungsσσ, walking out of the building. Chαnyeol frowns seeing the state of his boyfriend. He got thinner and dark circles are prominent under his eyes.

_ “Boyfriend mo…”  _ Kyungsσσ nudges Bαekhyun whose mind was all around the place. He was so drained because of the exam and from lack of sleep. 

_ “Ha?”  _

_ “Si Chαnyeol.”  _ Jυnmyeσn pointed at Chαnyeol who was walking towards them, hands hidden on his back. 

Jυnmyeσn and Kyungsσσ bid their goodbye when Chαnyeol was infront of them, insisting that they should have their alone time together since Bαekhyun has been whining a lot that he misses his boyfriend for the past week.

_ “Hi…”  _ Bαekhyun smiled and fixed the collar of Chαnyeol’s uniform. 

_ “Happy Anniversary, mahal.”  _ He brings out the bouquet of flowers from his back, stunning Bαekhyun . 

_ “Shit … shit…”  _ Bαekhyun flicks himself on the forehead. He was so busy that he forgot about their anniversary.  _ “Mahal… I’m sorry. I forgot.” _ Bαekhyun expected that Chαnyeol would be angry or hurt but his boyfriend was not the type to not understand his situation. So instead of getting mad, Chαnyeol smiles at his boyfriend lovingly.

_ “It’s okay mahal. Alam kong busy ka sa acads.” _ Hugs his boyfriend  _ “Basta wag lang busy sa ibang lalaki.” _ Chαnyeol jokes, making Bαekhyun want to laugh and cry at the same time. How can he be so lucky with Chαnyeol who’s so handsome and understanding. Bαekhyun sometimes wonders if he even deserves someone like Chαnyeol, but the reassurance always comes right after. It comes with every good morning or goodnight text, every kiss, and every effort that Chαnyeol makes.

_ “I would never do that to you. Di kita ipagpapalit.”  _ He mumbles on Chαnyeol’s chest.  _ “I’m sorry mahal. Babawi ako sayo.” _

_ “No need. Don’t feel guilty about it because I understand. Hhmmmh?”  _ Bαekhyun looked up to his boyfriend and nodded.  _ “I love you. Happy Anniversary.” _

_ “I love you too, Chαnyeol. Happy Anniversary.” _

—

Sometimes relationships last forever, sometimes they don’t. Unfortunately for Bαekhyun and Chαnyeol, their relationship came to an end. 

There were no big fights or cheating. It was just that both of them grew up but not together. And as the process of growing up took place, their relationship fell apart.

They realized that the spark wasn’t there anymore. No matter how hard they tried it just didn’t feel the same way. Conversation went dull, their meet up’s became less frequent. The love was still there but it wasn’t enough.

At first both of them thought that they would end up marrying each other.

It was like a you and me against the world thing, or I don’t care even if we end up hungry and poor, as long as we are together we’ll be okay. But they are not children anymore and they know better. They are not the same fourteen year old teenagers who were so blinded by love that they think everything will be alright as long as you love each other.

_ “I love you Bαekhyun . Tatandaan mo yan ha?” _ Bαekhyun smiles at Chαnyeol who’s crying his eyes out. 

_ “I know Chαnyeol, and I love you too.”  _ Bαekhyun closes his eyes, letting the tears fall down his cheeks. 

He didn’t know that it would be this hard breaking up with someone you love. He kinda wished that Chαnyeol did something to make it easier for the both of them. 

_ “I’m sorry that this has to end.” _

_ “Don’t be sorry.”  _ Bαekhyun mumbles.  _ “Wala kang kasalanan. Wala tayong kasalanan. We tried naman diba? Kaya lang ganon talaga eh. Not all realationship lasts.” _

  
  


_ “Bestfriends parin tayo. Tandaan mo yan. Kasi dun tayo nag simula diba? At hindi yun mag babago.”  _ Chαnyeol wiped Bαekhyun ’s tears as he said that.  _ “I’ll always be here for you.” _

_ “I know… pero please let me move on first. Baka hindi ako makapag pigil halikan kita bigla.”  _ Bαekhyun tried to joke but Chαnyeol ended up sobbing hardly.  _ “Tama na… haha… mukha na tayong baliw. Mag kikita pa naman tayo lagi kasi mag kapitbahay tayo.”  _

_ “I love you Baek.”  _ Chαnyeol kissed his now ex boyfriend’s forehead one last time before going out of the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Five months after the break up, both of them fulfilled their promise to be best friends again. Although it was awkward, both of them since they haven’t moved on completely yet.

Everything slowly is slowly coming back to normal. On weekends, Chanyeol will go to Baekhyun ’s house to hang out or to eat dinner or sometime it would be Baekhyun who goes to Chanyeol’s house since both of their mother are always saying that it is their romantic relationship that broke off not the relationship between their families. 

But the connection slowly burned down when they graduated from college, both of them having their first job. The text and meet-ups became less frequent because they were both busy. Especially Chanyeol who was out of the country most of the time because he became a flight attendant in the same airline with his sister. It didn’t help that the Park family moved houses because they can now afford a better house since both of their children are earning big from their job.

Communication eventually died and both of them thought that they would never see each other again because no matter how many times they planned to meet up things just didn’t agree with them. It’s either Baekhyun was too tired all week from overworking himself in the office or Chanyeol was too jet lagged from his previous flight.

So the surprise is just evident when they saw each other again for the second time, in a Mall in Makati, near Baekhyun ’s office, and Chanyeol’s café.

_ “Hey. How are you?”  _ It’s been two weeks since they saw each other again. 

_ “Great. A little jet lagged but okay lang naman.”  _ Baekhyun craned his neck to look Chanyeol in the face.  _ “Did you grow a little? Super tangkad mo na ngayon.” _ He mused.

_ “I guess?”  _ Chanyeol chuckles.  _ “I think you stopped growing nung college na.”  _ He joked, making Baekhyun roll his eyes.  _ “Coffee?” _

Baekhyun looks at his wrist watch before nodding. It’s already one ten PM —  _ ten minutes past his lunch time —  _ but he still nods, accepting his old friend’s invitation  _ “Sure. I can make time.” _

—

_ “San ka na mag ta-trabaho? Kila Jυnmyeσn padin?”  _ Chanyeol puts two cups of coffee on the table before sitting down in front of Baekhyun . 

_ “Hindi na. I left after a year of working there. One of my professors endorsed me in a company in New York. That’s why I left. Alam mo naman I needed money.”  _

_ “So you’re here for vacation lang?” _

_ “Nope. I moved back three or four years ago? I can’t really remember… I moved here when I got promoted. The company expanded here in Asia. How about you? FA padin? Wala kang flight ngayon?”  _

_ “Di na.” Chanyeol _ sips from his coffee  _ “I saved up money for the first two years kasi I wanted to have my own coffee shop or become a barista after my flight in Colombia. That’s where I met my business partner, Jongdae. He was there to research some of the coffee beans tapos we kept in touch. Then boom, after a year nag tayo na kami ng coffee shop near UST. Pero I stayed for another year before I resigned sa PAL.”  _ Chanyeol rambles. One thing that Baekhyun is sure of, Chanyeol still likes to talk and he’s still very animated when telling stories. 

_ “Wow, I didn’t peg you as someone who wanted to be a barista. Kala ko magiging chef ka eh.”  _

_ “I know… crazy no? I guess I was just really unpredictable.”  _ Chanyeol winks at Baekhyun .  _ “Anyway, I saw Kyungsσσ last week. He’s pregnant na pala? And he’s with his son din, wearing a CSA uniform. —” _

_ “That was Scottie, my s—” _

_ “I wanted to talk to him kaso nahiya ako kasi he’s with his husband. Crazy no? I thought he didn’t want to have a child until he was thirty?”  _ Chanyeol continues to talk about his encounter sith Kyungsσσ. He wanted to say that the kid that Kyungsσσ was with is his son but Chanyeol kept on talking that’s why he didn’t have the chance to talk about his son. The only thing that cut off Chanyeol’s rambling was the loud ring from Baekhyun ’s phone.

  
  


_ “Hello? … Oh shi— Andrea I’m sorry. Yes.. cancel my meetings for today… reschedule the urgent meetings tomorrow and the others the following day… okay.. Thanks.”  _ Baekhyun drops the call, groaning in the process. How can he forget his schedule for the day? 

_ “Oho! Big time ka na ngayon. Nag papa-cancel ka na ng meeting.” _

“ _ Daldal mo kasi. I forgot tuloy.”  _ Baekhyun started to fix his bag.  _ “I’m gonna go.”  _ He stood up from his chair “ _ thanks for the coffee, Yeol.” _

_ “I thought wala ka na meetings? Come on let’s talk some more.”  _ Chanyeol rested his chin on his hand, sticking his lower lip.

_ “Next time. Kukunin ko pa gamit ko sa office at susunduin ko pa yung anak ko sa CSA.”  _ He waves at Chanyeol before going out of the coffee shop.

_ “Anak?” _ Chanyeol thought. He didn’t see any wedding rings on Baekhyun ’s finger.  _ “Baka yung anak ni Kyungsσσ.” _ Chanyeol shrugged before standing up and went to the pantry of his coffee shop.

******************************

>> 1 Month

_ “Andrea, to my office now.”  _ Baekhyun says through the intercom. Within a few seconds his secretary is inside his office.  _ “I need you to pull out some stuff from last season. Like hoodies and t-shirts from the baby collection.”  _ Baekhyu says, looking outside of his floor to ceiling window inside his office.  _ “Diba we have the terno for baby and parents? Look for it in our archive — or ask someone else to look for them.” _

_ “Okay sir. Yun lang po?”  _ Andrea asks as she writes down everything that his boss tells him. 

_ “Ano pa ba pwede sa gender reveal?”  _ Baekhyun wonders. Kyungsσσ is finally doing his baby’s gender reveal. 

_ “Di ko alam sir. Wala pa po akong anak eh.”  _ Andrea answers, going through her contacts to ask someone if the things that his boss are looking for are still available.  _ “Sir meron daw po. Both for boys and girls, hoodie shirts. Ready for pull out na po. Tapos yung sa terno wala na pong hoodie. Puro t-shirts and bucket hats po.” _ If there’s one thing that Baekhyun likes about his secretary, it’s that she is efficient and gets things done right away. She doesn’t need to be told twice. “ _ How many guests po ba?” _

_ “A hundred siguro. Pero not all has a baby naman so maybe…” _

_ “Maybe fifty will do sir. For sure mostly adults lang naman ang pupunta.”  _ Baekhyun nods at Andrea’s suggestion. He looks at his wrist watch. 

_ “Okay tell them to pull out 50 for kids, maybe 50 for adults. I need them next week.”  _ Baekhyun says and stands up from his seat.  _ “Ilan yung mga nasa meeting mamayang 11:30?” _

“ _ Nine sir. Including us.” _

_ “Okay. Let’s have an early lunch kasama sila. Let’s move the meeting late, mamayang 1:00 PM.”  _

_ **************************** _

_ “Thank you for the food Sir!”  _

_ “Ulit ulit? Pangatlo niyo na yan”  _ He waved his hand, signaling them to stop thanking him for buying them food. 

One of the employees yawns and stretches his arms  _ “Ehem, coffee, ehem…”  _ He jokes, making everyone in the table laugh. 

_ “Oo nga, sarap ng coffee after a good lunch..”  _ Andrea quips. Baekhyun being a good boss that ge is, gave in to their requests.

_ “Oo na. I know a great place. Let’s go.”  _

**************************

_ “Ay kuya, we didn’t order chocolate cake.”  _ Baekhyun furrows his brows, looking at one of the waiters in the coffee shop who’s placing nine plates of cake on their table. 

_ “It’s on me.”  _ Chanyeol said, walking over to their table. 

_ “Yah! How many times do I have to tell you to stop giving me free pastries?”  _

_ “Last na yan”  _ Chanyeol grins at him.

_ “This is Chanyeol Park. He’s the owner of this coffee shop.”  _ He points at Chanyeol who’s now standing behind him. Everyone greeted Chanyeol and thanked him for the free chocolate cake, and complimenting their coffee. 

_ “How do you know each other, Sir?”  _ Mike asks Baekhyun .

_ “We’re… friends.”  _ Baekhyun answered.

_ “Ah kayo kayo nila sir Jυnmyeσn?”  _ Almost everyone in the office knows who his friends are because they often go to Baekhyun ’s office just watch him work all day.  _ “How come I haven’t seen him before?” _

_ “We were childhood friends. We were neighbors back then. Kami nila Jυnmyeσn & Kyungsσσ, we met in college. In Ateneo.”  _ Baekhyun answered.  _ “Speaking of Kyungsσσ… Chanyeol, can I talk to you in private?”  _

_ “Yeah sure. In my office?”  _ Baekhyun nodded before turning to Andrea. 

_ “Una na kayo. We still have 20 minutes. Set up the presentation for the meeting. I’ll be back agad.”  _ He said before following Chanyeol in his office.

When they got in the office Baekhyun asked Chanyeol if they offer services for parties like coffee carts. He remembered that Kyungsσσ and Jong liked coffee a lot so he asked Chanyeol if they could provide a coffee cart for the baby gender reveal. 

_ “You can serve pastries too. Your macarons too and muffin.”  _

_ “I don’t know Baek… we haven’t done it yet. I still have to ask Jongdae about it. When is it ba?”  _

_ “September 14, Saturday, one month and 3 days pa naman.” _ Baekhyun said, a little hopeful. Chanyeol scans the calendar on his table and reads the schedules written on it. Usually, it starts to get busy in their cafe during Ber months since they have a lot of promo’s in order to boost their sales. Their café is usually jampacked, especially during weekends.

_ “Ganito na lang. Since I can’t really decide on my own regarding things like this, I’m gonna relay this to my partner because it’ll be our first time serving for parties. We have a lot of things to consider like budget, man power and all of those things —.” _

_ “Ofcourse, of course… I understand.” _

_ “So… I’ll give you a call once we decide.”  _

_ “Thank you! For considering it…”  _ he fishes his wallet on his back pocket  _ “Here’s my number”  _ he hands him his business card.

_ “I’ll get going. May meeting pa ko.”  _ Baekhyun says before turning around to go out of the office. 

_ “I… Baek.”  _ Baekhyun stops on his track, looking back at Chanyeol when he calls him. He stood there, waiting for what Chanyeol had to say.  _ “I… ano… wala. Never mind. I’ll call you pag napag usapan na namin.” _

_ “Thank you, Chanyeol.” _


End file.
